US Open Tennis 2017: TV Schedule, Start Times for Tuesday Night Draw

The return of Roger Federer at the U.S. Open begins Tuesday night with his first-round match against American Frances Tiafoe.

Those two will play at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York at 9 p.m. ET, and the match will be televised by ESPN. That network will broadcast all afternoon and night-time matches Tuesday, and the Tennis Channel will present a 60-minute wrap-up show at 11 p.m.

Federer did not play in the U.S. Open in 2016, as he was recovering from a knee injury. However, he came back this year and has won two Grand Slam tournaments in the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and he is the third seed in the U.S. Open.

Federer felt good at the start of the year, but the idea that he would win the two Grand Slam events was not one to which he gave serious consideration. He was thrilled to play so consistently in Australia and come away with the title, and he was hoping that he might last into the second week at Wimbledon.

Per Henry Young and Ravi Ubha of CNN, Federer said:

"I was hoping that things were going to play out nicely and that I was going to be in contention in the second week at Wimbledon. To win it altogether? It's like the dream scenario that you hope happens but you're so cautious that you never really want to go there mentally."

Federer is not optimistic about his chance of winning in New York, at least in his public statements. As a 36-year-old athlete who has been slowed by injuries in the past, Federer is trying to be realistic about his chances of earning the 20th Grand Slam title of his career at the U.S. Open.

"I am not 25 anymore. I'm not sure I can win three slams in one year. Winning two is already pretty crazy and plenty good enough for me," Federer said.

Nevertheless, Federer is the favorite to win the tournament. OddsShark has Federer at plus-175 to come away with the championship in New York, followed by Rafael Nadal at plus-300.

Federer has won three other tournaments in in addition to the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and he has a 35-3 match record this year. The Swiss great has won more than $8.9 million this season, and a U.S. Open championship would send his earnings well past the $10 million mark.

Seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov will face Vaclav Safranek at 5:30 p.m. Dimitrov is the ninth-ranked player in the world, and he has won more than $2.5 million in prize money and three tournaments this season.

Dimitrov's best U.S. Open performance was a semifinal appearance in 2014, and he will depend on his serve to help him advance in the tournament this year. Dimitrov has won 83 percent of his service games, and he converts 38 percent of the break points he faces.

Madison Keys, the 15th-seeded American, will face Elise Mertens of Germany in a 7 p.m. match at Ashe.

Keys has won one tournament this season with just under $500,000 in earnings while compiling an 11-8 record.

Keys has won 73.9 percent of her service games and 33.8 percent of her return games. She has a chance to go fairly deep in the tournament if she can continue to play aggressively and take advantage of her break-point opportunities.

Tuesday night predictions (Selected matches scheduled to start at 5 p.m or later)

David Goffin (9) over Julien Benneteau
Roberto Bautista (11) over Andreas Seppi
Grigor Dimitrov (7) over Vaclav Safranek
Nick Kyrgios (14) over John Millman
Roger Federer (3) over Frances Tiafoe
Elina Vesnina (17) over Anna Blinkova
Madison Keys (15) over Elise Mertens